MAVA 2022 Awards for Excellence in Volunteerism

Maurus Karboviack - Good Shepherd Community

Nominated by Janette Ditlefsen

It has been 18 years since the Good Shepherd Community added the Memory Care Cottages to our campus. In this small, homelike setting residents with mild to moderate dementia are faithfully provided 24-hour care with the help of our team of caregivers and volunteers.   Most Volunteer Coordinators recognize the value of family members who embrace the mission of service, compassion, trust, and respect. We see family that take this to the next level and become devoted volunteers. That was the case with Maurus (Maury) and his wife, Evelyn Karboviak, as they went above and beyond when his mother moved into the cottages. They formalized their volunteer commitment in 2017. Visits included all cottage residents and nursing home residents needing one-to-one connections. Maury and Evie shared their Catholic faith as needed throughout the year with Stations of The Cross and weekly Rosary. Their gentle, calming nature was such a great gift to our residents.   When reviewing their history here, I note that they quietly added duties that were not asked. There are numerous entries of spontaneous chores such as pulling weeds, starting a game of BINGO, helping hands at special events, and carpentry for displays and a PLINKO game. But they always remained faithful with their weekly and daily visits. When their family member passed, Maury and Evie continued with their volunteer service to our community. Their daughter and grandchildren also joined them on this journey of faith sharing and visits.  Life changed with Covid. Healthcare facilities such as ours suspended volunteers and we struggled to keep connections. Amid this, Maury tragically lost his beloved wife, Evie. Covid protocols prevented us from gathering to support the family in a way we would expect. Memorial services were more private and people who could attend were scaled back. Our hearts were very heavy for this wonderful family that gave and gave with such joyful spirits.  Like a phoenix, we rise again and as summer approached, we noticed a very big need at our Memory Cottages. Staff at the cottages relied on the bright, summer days to bring residents outside for a needed change. However, the years were not kind to our outdoor gazebos. Discolored and warped wood along with torn screens left both gazebos in disrepair and not usable. When we approached Maury about his availability to begin this project, he dived right in. As a talented craftsman, he assessed the situation and began the job with the gazebo on the north side. Maury researched the best way to attack the project. Repairs were made to the structure as needed and all screens were removed during the refresh process. Every day when the weather cooperated, Maury worked a three-step process to clean, sand, and stain the gazebo. Many hours and careful attention to detail resulted in a beautifully transformed gazebo. We can’t wait for spring to make it ‘cute’ with lights, accessories and …. to begin on the other gazebo! Cheers to you, Maury!

Award for Excellence in Volunteerism Leadership During COVID-19

Ashley Asmus - Women's Prison Book Project

Nominated by Beth Derenne

The Women’s Prison Book Project’s (WPBP) work came to a standstill in March of 2020. We operated out of a small space that was also a bookstore and normally hosted 10-20+ volunteers every Sunday. As an all-volunteer organization, it was hard to shift tactics that would allow us to support our mission of sending books into prisons across the country. Our amazing volunteer, Ashley Asmus, had vision, drive, and the organizing power that kept our volunteers engaged and allowed us to find a way to continue to operate during the pandemic. Ashley organized a letter writing campaign in which our volunteers could write letters from home and send them into our readers in prison to let them know we were thinking of them and wanted to hear what they were experiencing inside prison. Each letter had a hand-written note from a volunteer and contained space for them to write their experience and send them back. The letters had artwork that contained hopeful messages and could be used by the recipient to color and put up in their cell. The responses WPBP got from women and transgender prisoners made it very clear we needed to get them books as they were stuck in their cells 24-hours a day without access to the prison library, classes, visits from family, and on and on.  Ashley devised a brilliant plan to take our work outside. Since our library of donated books was all inside the bookstore in our offices, she hand-built rolling bookshelves to hold our library of books, secured folding tables and tents, and masks and cleaning supplies so we could do our mailings outside. By this time in the Summer of 2020, we had not been able to send out books for several months and were 4-6 months behind on fulfilling book requests to the prisoners we serve. Ashley calculated how many Sundays were left in the Summer and early Fall and how many hours of volunteer work it would take to get caught up on orders and organized a volunteer calendar accordingly. She shifted our drop-in volunteer program to an online app so we could limit participation for safety and adherence to COVID protocols. She also organized a huge book drive so volunteer book donors could drop off books outside. WPBP’s volunteers stayed engaged after our March shutdown and prior to our outdoor reboot through the letter writing campaigns Ashley had helped to lead and the social media posts she sent that kept our volunteers updated. Ashley’s leadership continued with her vision for how WPBP could hold book mailings as Fall approached. She led the project in realizing that we needed to move to a larger space where we could safely work indoors. The Summer of 2020, WPBP moved our offices to a 700 sq ft space with windows that allowed us to have small groups of volunteers send books into prisons. With Ashley’s leadership, WPBP has been able to engage volunteers safely and continue our mission successfully.

Brenda Sullivan - Senior LinkAge Line

Nominated by Lee Swenson

Brenda has been a volunteer Medicare counselor with the Senior LinkAge Line® since June 2014. During that time, she has given over 2,500 hours to people in the International Falls, MN, and surrounding Koochiching County communities. Over the years of volunteering Brenda has provided valuable outreach, taught classes, and provided counseling on all phases of Medicare; she managed the office voicemails and made countless callbacks with people, and has always been willing to step up to help train in new volunteers. Brenda has the experience, and capacity, to support our two paid staff in our International Falls office. During this two-year COVID-19 pandemic time Brenda has been our voice from the International Falls office; she is the one who makes all the outbound phone calls to people who have called in to the office asking Medicare questions. In 2020 Brenda assisted 176 people with their in-depth Medicare questions and made over 200 outbound calls. In 2021 Brenda assisted over 206 people and, during the busy Medicare Open Enrollment Period (October 15 to December 7 of each year) Brenda made over 300 outbound calls. One of the biggest impacts Brenda has made during the COVID-19 time is to co-create a remote Medicare abuse and fraud awareness presentation from scratch. She watched, and selected, relevant videos on fraud awareness to be used in the classes. She reviewed training materials of the Senior Medicare Patrol, a federal program that trains seniors to help fight fraud and scams targeting Medicare beneficiaries. Medicare fraud crimes cost the United States taxpayers an estimated 4 billion dollars a year. Brenda developed the talking points of the presentation as well as the critical conversational questions to ask during this online class. This presentation teaches participants what to look for in their paperwork and billing statements, advertising they receive, and attempts of scamming money and information from people. In 2020 and 2021 Brenda helped lead over 32 of these scheduled remote classes, some of these she hosted and presented on her own. She also helped support the participants with email communication both before, and after, the remote classes. Brenda helped teach Minnesotans how to be aware of scams and fraud, as well as how to report these crimes, as they learned to better protect themselves and their loved ones. 

Mary Wiser Award for Leadership in the Field of Volunteer Resources

Dana Thewis - Community Partners

Nominated by Holly Daniels

Dana has been a dedicated collaborator with MAVA since she started her career in Volunteer Engagement in 2019. She’s been involved with MAVA’s public policy committee and our advocacy efforts to pass the Volunteerism Bill, which would provide $1 million for volunteerism, the first state funding for volunteer engagement in twenty years. Dana helped lead MAVA’s 2022 Day at the Capitol, where she presented on “What is Lobbying?” and helped secure a hearing with the MN House of Representatives. She also provided written testimony about the necessity of volunteerism in rural Minnesota. She said this: “In rural areas, volunteers provide the life-giving services that are needed for our community members to live independently and age in their own homes.” Dana cares deeply about telling volunteer stories, and stories of the community members who rely on those volunteers.  Aside from frequently writing letters of support and articles for MAVA, Dana is commonly seen at MAVA events and trainings. She shows up; she shows up for events, conferences, and networking opportunities, like MAVA’s District Council meetings. Dana could talk to anybody — she gives and receives advice and insights, and clearly values the collaboration that happens when we invest in building community with other volunteer engagement leaders.  We want to honor Dana and recognize her in a time where the needs of seniors in her community is greater than ever, and her resources are diminished due to COVID. Despite the struggles, Dana willingly shows up. She connects. She tells great stories. She offers her time and talent for the good of volunteerism.

Award for Excellence in Executive Leadership

Jana Webster - Airport Foundation MSP

Nominated by Laura Sartain

Much of the success of Airport Foundation MSP is credited to its team of nearly 400 volunteers led by Executive Director Jana Webster, who has been at the helm for nearly 25 years. Under Jana’s leadership,  the 40-year strong Airport Foundation MSP has built a business model that has grown its volunteer ranks seven-fold, by curating a rich variety of roles ranging from customer service, therapy animals, arts and culture, special events, and tourism support. By offering a variety of opportunities across multiple disciplines, Jana and her leadership team have achieved (and maintained) an unheard-of volunteer retention rate of 95%. Much of this high percentage of volunteer retention is due in part to a volunteer recognition program that is warmly received as well as comprehensive professional growth and development training program.   Jana demonstrates standout leadership in an ever-changing and uniquely dynamic environment. She is a nimble strategist who adapts to market conditions and is recognized for her ability to navigate a political landscape with agility, while strengthening long-lasting partnerships with airport and travel industry executives. Jana is an inspiring leader who encourages her team to take on big and bold ideas. Her passion for excellence has created a culture of continuous improvement, empowerment, and employee satisfaction. As Airport Foundation MSP volunteer programs continues to evolve, Jana remains their biggest advocate. She drives her teams to deliver nothing less than their best. Jana Webster is an extraordinary example of what a great leader looks like and is a true champion for volunteer advancement.

Judie Russell Award for Excellence in Volunteer Program Development

Rodrick Fields - American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota

Nominated by Julia Burman

Rodrick built a program from nothing. 200 names of people that had volunteered in the past. Now 1500 people strong, current volunteers. He developed a system to make it easier for people to volunteer. He put together a training program for volunteers so that they do not go out in the field unprepared to support the project/event and the mission of the organization. He puts together a newsletter for the volunteers to keep them informed of what has, is, and will happen within the organization. He is constantly looking for ways to meaningfully engage volunteers in our organization. He does a yearly recognition event even during covid to let our volunteers know that they are respected and appreciated by our Board and staff for the work they do for us. Work that we couldn’t do without their help. Rodrick made the volunteer program something we can all be proud of. People love working with Rodrick.

Volunteer of the Year

Ben Finkelstein

Nominated by MAVA Staff

Ben has been an outstanding and consistent contributor and supporter of MAVA for over 6 years. He has been an outstanding Board member and Board Treasurer.  Through his fiscal expertise and oversight, MAVA has seen revenue growth, intentional budget management, and support in educating the board on financial responsibility and being a good steward of funds received!

Margaret Melby

Nominated by MAVA Staff

Margaret Melby sought out volunteering opportunities to expand her technical writing and editing skills while she completed her Technical Communication certificate from the University of Minnesota. Luckily for MAVA, Margaret found an open Communications Volunteer position at our nonprofit. Margaret started her communications volunteer position last May, and she has truly made a lasting impact at our organization. She is responsible for creating MAVA’s weekly e-blasts, where we have received compliments from MAVA members regarding the content, feel, and look. Margaret is also responsible for creating and disseminating the MAVA Monthly, as well as archiving MAVA’s communications. Margaret is a self-starter, hardworking, creative, and a delight to work with. She has truly elevated MAVA’s communications!